Introduction

Amazon Elastic File System (EFS) makes it easy to create a scalable Network File System (NFS) file share in the cloud. NFS is a distributed file system protocol that allows you to share files and directories between Linux-based instances. In this guide, we'll explore the steps to create a simple NFS file share using AWS EFS.


Key Concepts

Before we proceed, let's understand some key concepts:

  • EFS File System: An EFS file system is a managed NFS file storage service that can be mounted on multiple Amazon EC2 instances.
  • NFS Protocol: Network File System (NFS) is a widely used protocol for sharing files and directories between Linux systems.

Benefits of Creating an NFS File Share with EFS

Creating an NFS file share with AWS EFS offers several benefits:

  • Scalability: EFS automatically scales to accommodate your storage needs, making it suitable for growing applications.
  • Shared Access: Multiple EC2 instances can access and modify the same files, enabling collaboration and data sharing.
  • Data Durability: EFS replicates data across multiple Availability Zones, providing high availability and data durability.

Creating an NFS File Share with AWS EFS

To create an NFS file share with EFS, follow these key steps:

  1. Create an EFS File System: Go to the AWS Management Console and create a new EFS file system. Specify your preferences, such as the Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) and security groups.
  2. Configure Mount Targets: Set up one or more mount targets within your VPC to allow EC2 instances to access the EFS file system via NFS.
  3. Mount the File System: On your EC2 instances, use the NFS client to mount the EFS file system to a directory of your choice.
  4. Test and Use: You can now access the shared file system from your EC2 instances, read, write, and share data among them.

Sample Code for Mounting EFS (Linux)

Here's an example of how to mount an AWS EFS file system on a Linux EC2 instance:

sudo mount -t nfs -o nfsvers=4.1,rsize=1048576,wsize=1048576,hard,timeo=600,retrans=2 fs-12345678.efs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com:/ /mnt/myefs

Conclusion

Creating a simple NFS file share with AWS EFS is a straightforward process and provides scalable and shared storage for your applications and data. Understanding these steps empowers you to leverage AWS EFS for your file sharing needs.